We ’re starting a novel part – revaluation of best books for dog owners ! I have antecedently listedtop 25 best frank record book ever , and we ’ve cover the topic of three best books fortraining your cad . But as I was looking through my library , I realized that there is more material out there , and this time , I opt to review it more in - deepness . So buckle up , let ’s plunge in !
Top Dog : The Story of Marine Hero Luccais atrue storyabout a German Shepherd appoint Lucca and her time of service as a K9 Marine in Afghanistan and Iraq , and all the heroic things this canine has execute .
Written by New York Times best - sell author of Soldier DogsMaria Goodavage , the book has advance numerous appraisals and awing reviews .
Lucca and her handler.Photo credit: philly.com
“ Written like an adventure , with core - pound fighting successiveness , high tension , and suspense as well as present moment of deep emotion and bonding , “ Top Dog ” is a must read for anyone who appreciate heroes of both the two - legged and four - legged kind . ” – Stanley Coren , Ph.D.
“ … an absolutely fascinating and an accurate portrait of the grandness of military work dogs and their handler on today ’s complex field of battle . The book is extremely well written and skilfully paint the picture of the passionate human relationship between military working frump and its handler . It has my gamey recommendation . ” — Army Lieutenant General Rick Lynch
“ An eye - opening account of the job these intelligent dog and their courageous manager do … [a ] rivet title that is fill with excitement and grief . ” — Library Journal
Lucca and her handler.Photo credit: philly.com
Review of Top Dog: The Story of Marine Hero Lucca
Premise : The book tell a tale of a highly - skilled , over-the-top and plainly astonishing military work out hotdog by the name of Lucca , bit K458 , who is officially titled as a specialised Search Dog . You will go on a journey with this record book that will take you through the awe - animate tale of her life history that span over 400 military missions and the unlikely bond that has developed between this eyetooth and her handlers , Chris Willingham and Juan Rodriguez ( both shipboard soldier ) . Lucca is part of the most elect group , and she has puzzle out alongside foot and Special Forces alike , and cursorily became the most essay - after military dog bespeak on a regular basis . How about that ?
InTop Dogyou will take about all the farinaceous stories , conflict , adventures of this frank , including very tense , lifesaving explosive search , fire fight , and about the courage of herMarine Corpshandlers . In the end , you ’ll explore and almost experience the bail between Lucca and her animal trainer , and how they sweep over all of those struggle brutality of war , wound , and the trauma of fury . It ’s a heartwarming , inspiring and amazing story with an even better finish that will touch you deeply . frank lovers beware – you will cry .
What I think : To be honest , I stumbled upon this book entirely on accident . I was looking for something novel to read about dogs and review for the Top Dog Tips website , and this came along , which was perfect . I did , in fact , read Maria ’s first book – Soldier Dogs , which came out about 2 years ago , in 2012 . It ’s decidedly a must - record for anybody who ’s as fanatical about canine as I am . In addition to gravid stories , it gives a very unique , interesting and truthful perspective of what a spirit of a military hound looks like . With that being allege , countenance ’s talkTop Dognow .
Top Dog(and that’s Lucca’s portrait)
What ’s interesting that Lucca is n’t purebred German Shepherd , but she is mixed with Belgian Malinois . From the very beginning you ’ll grasp the essence of how deep her relationship is with her marine handler Chris who ’s a Staff Sergeant . They trained together and if you ’re a dog person yourself , you ’ll be capable to connect instantly . Chris and Lucca are absolutely inseparable . They play in tandem bicycle among all the battle dangers , trying to survive themselves but primarily focusing all of their resources in edict to spare human lives . The psyche - inscrutable verbal description of comradeliness between a human being and a canine is what sells this book . In fact , you almost do n’t see them as two freestanding … creatures . It ’s almost as if they they are one entity , a one beating warmheartedness . Not even for a second will you hesitate to guess whether these two can ever separate or ever provide each other in combat ; as you go through the ledger you bang that it ’s just inconceivable , and their trueness to each other is something we seldom see today , or ever .
Sadly – and I ’m not really spoiling anything here – the two finally freestanding and have to go their own ways . I might be overly sensitive to these things , or possibly I eff Canis familiaris and look up to the human - dog human relationship too much , but the way Maria Goodavage writes about this makes me bust up even now while survey her al-Qur’an . Nonetheless , Lucca is never forgotten and always lose . She ’s the source of stories of decency , of good , of the beautiful life sentence and the esteem she has earned over the year . And with this astonishing narration the author has also include a bunch of photos from Lucca ’s days in the armed services . It ’s a definite 5 - star book , and it will never give my bookshelf because we require these stories ; we must have them , cherish them , and occasionally re - translate again just to cue ourselves what straight commitment , categorical love , and comradery is . I hope you ’ll love Top Dog as much as I did and share with others !
Note : check that to not skip Notes and Acknowledgements section – you will enjoy those part as well , I promise you . Spoiler ( not really ): you will learn even more about Lucca ’s animal trainer Chris and their relationship from those surgical incision , and some write up from there were not or could not have been let in .
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